Book Reviews Archives - Page 57 of 115

Blog Tour: Country Road Series by Andrea Johnston | Reviews

May 12, 2017

Welcome to my stop on the Country Road series relaunch blog tour! I hadn’t heard much about these books until I read the synopsis and I was intrigued. One of my favourite troops is siblings best friend. I have decided to do mini reviews for both Whiskey & Honey and Tequila & Tailgates. Hope you enjoy. There is also a giveaway at the end!

I received free e-books of both Whiskey & Honey and Tequila & Tailgates by Andrea Johnston from Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the books.

Whiskey & Honey by Andrea Johnston

Pages: 266
Publish date: July 31, 2016
Publisher: –
ASIN: B01H32KF2U
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Kobo

Guys have rules. Rule #1: You don’t date your sister’s best friend.

Bentley Sullivan hasn’t found the one. He’s always been the good guy – the gentleman. With one quick, and possibly irrational, decision everything changes. After a case of mistaken identity and a drunken kiss, Ben is convinced that the one is finally right in front of him. Only, she’s untouchable.

Girls have rules. Rule #1: You don’t date your best friend’s brother.

Piper Lawrence has not been successful in love. Almost as quickly as she swears off men, he comes into her life. Her childhood crush and the man who has set the standards for every man she’s ever dated, he is also the one man she can’t have.

A single kiss changes it all.

Whiskey & Honey:

Whiskey & Honey by Andrea Johnston follows Bentley Sullivan and Piper Lawrence two people that once knew it each very well, but were never in the same circle. But when Bentley comes back into two everything changes.

Bentley just hasn’t found the one. He’s the good guy, but he wants to. He wants to fall in love and stay in love. When he moves back to his home he thought that he was going to take it slow and not fall in a relationship, but when he kisses a girl at a bar – things very much change.

Bentley was an easy character to get along with most of the time. He was a sweetheart most the time. I liked that he loved his family and thought about their feelings above his own. I love having this young male character that does show his love for his family and isn’t ashamed.

Piper was harder to get along with at times in Whiskey & Honey. For the most part, I did enjoy reading here, but her hesitation really got to me. I loved the friendship with Bentley sister Ashton. Throughout the book the reader is able to see how much her friendship means. I did dislike how much Piper was influenced by those around her and how easy manipulated she was.

The romance side of Whiskey & Honey was fast. Like way too fast for my liking. Bentley and Piper were never more than friends even that before he left and he comes back everything is jumped on. I think that if the romance was slowed down, then I would have really enjoyed the romance between the two. I wasn’t able to really see their connection, at times I thought I could see it, but then it disappeared.

Overall, Whiskey & Honey was an okay read. I liked the family aspects between Bentley and his family. I liked the friendship between Piper and Ashton. However, the romance wasn’t my favourite. I felt that it rush and there was no real connection between the two. Whiskey & Honey explores the notion of family, learning to love and friendship.

Tequila & Tailgates by Andrea Johnston

Pages: 266
Publish date: January 2017
Publisher:
ISBN: 0996630953
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Kobo

Four years ago, I took the biggest risk of my life and it blew up in my face. I learned my lesson – love sucks.

Now self-preservation and protecting my heart have become second nature. But Jameson Strauss… he’s my weakness.

Give me the occasional shot of tequila, a game of Truth or Dare, and I’ll do almost anything for that man.

Four years ago, I didn’t follow my heart. I let the one girl that consumed my soul walk away without a fight.

Now I go through the motions never truly living. But, the day Ashton Sullivan needed me was the day my world changed for the better.

Tequila, truths, and the occasional dare are all I need to show her how good we can be.

Sometimes the truth is in the dare.

Tequila & Tailgates:

Tequila & Tailgates Andrea Johnston follows protagonists Ashton and Jameson, who just can’t seem to get along. Ashton has a dig at Jameson ever chance that she can get. Jameson gives it right back and everyone around them is starting to get annoyed. But when a tree falls through Ashton’s house and she needs a place to stay – things just might come to the surface and change.

This was another fall for your siblings best friend type of novel and I do love this trope and while I think it was done sort of okay in Tequila & Tailgates, there book just didn’t hit the right spots.

Jameson, for the most part, was an okay protagonist. He didn’t annoy me as such, but I also didn’t fall in love with him either. I liked that he is going well in in his work and how he is making something for himself that way.

Ashton wasn’t my favourite character in this series. I found her really hard to get along with and very abrupt. I don’t really like the way that she treated Jameson for most of the book, the way that she insults him every time another woman is next to him. It was quite insulting – she was would treat both Jameson and the girls as trash.

The romance was okay-ish. I don’t know how I feel about because I wasn’t a massive fan of Ashton on a whole. There was a lot of miscommunication from the past that did make her the way she is, but it wasn’t acceptable. The reader is able to see that Jameson cares a lot for Ashton, but most of the books she is throwing insults at him.

Overall, Tequila & Tailgates was okay. There were parts that I somewhat enjoyed and some that just weren’t for me. Tequila & Tailgates explores the notion of second chance love, friendship, and family. We get to see some old characters and met some new, but it’s a super quick romance to read if you just want to read something.

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Have you read any of these books by Andrea Johnston? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? What are some of your favourite siblings best friend novels? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Avenged by Amy Tintera

May 11, 2017

Avenged by Amy Tintera

Pages: 416
Publish date: April 26th, 2017
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760290658
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

A war that will fuel her. A bond that will destroy her.

Emelina Flores has come home to Ruina. After rescuing her sister Olivia from imprisonment in rival kingdom Lera, Em and Olivia together have devised a plan that will rebuild Ruina to its former glory.

But just because Em and Olivia are out of Lera doesn’t mean they are safe. Their actions over the past year have had consequences, and they are now targets of retaliation. Olivia will destroy everyone who acts against Ruina, but Em isn’t as sure.

Ever since Em posed as Prince Casimir’s betrothed in Lera, she’s started to see another side to this war. Lera may have destroyed the Ruined for decades, but Em knows that Cas is different. And now that he’s taken the throne, Em believes a truce is within reach. But Olivia suspects that Em’s romantic feelings for Cas are just colouring her judgement.

Em is determined to bring peace to her home. But when winning the war could mean betraying her family, Em faces an impossible choice between loyalty and love. Em must stay one step ahead of her enemies–and her blood–before she’s the next victim in this battle for sovereignty.

Avenged:

I received a review copy of Avenged by Amy Tintera from Hot Key Books via Allen and Unwin, in exchange for honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This review will contain some spoilers from Ruined – Book 1 | Ruined Review

Avenged was one of my most anticipated sequels for 2017 and let me tell you I was not disappointed. The second book of a series always scares me, simply because they tend to suffer and not stand up to the first book. Avenged was just as fast paced, intense, full of revenge and that little bit of romance that hits the right spot.

Avenged starts off not long after Ruined finished, and with the ending of book one, I didn’t know what to expect. Avenged follows protagonists Emelina Flores who after posing as a princess and vowing to get revenge, is back in Ruina, she is back home. Then there is Prince Casimir who has taken to the throne, but no in the way that he was thinking.

After the ending of Ruined, I didn’t know what to expect in Avenged and let me tell you I was so excited. One of the things I loved about book one was how much I loved Emelina and I loved her even more in Avenged. The reader is able to see a different side to Emelina throughout the novel. We get to see her vulnerability compared to her strength from book one. I liked how at times we do see her strength through the book and she doesn’t need a male to show her strength. But then her weakness is her sister and her love for Casimir.

Talking about Cas. In Ruined he is a ‘weak’ male protagonist compared to other YA male leads. But, in Avenged he finds his voice. And it was great to see. I loved Cas’s character arc, I love seeing him grow into a King. He has to make some hard decisions throughout the book and sometimes he makes some stupid ones. But I loved seeing him grow.

The romance in Avenged doesn’t overpower the story, in reality, it was barely there. But, I still loved it. I adore how different Emelina and Cas are, but when they are together they seem to fit so well. They balance each other out so well.

I also like that we get to see some characters from Ruined throughout the book. We see them grow throughout the series and I love the interaction between the side characters and our protagonists.

Olivia has a big influence throughout Avenged. And it’s scary as shit! Even though Emelina is sharp and fierce in her own right, it’s nothing compared to Olivia. For me, Olivia could very much turn into the villain of this story. Yes what she is fighting for her people, but the way that she goes about it isn’t all that great. She can kill people in a second and it doesn’t hurt her at all. She doesn’t care that she is killing people, murdering people.

Overall, I loved Avenged. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I love the character arc’s of both protagonists; Emelina and Casimir. As well as the side characters who grow and start to form. Avenged explores the notion of family, friends, and love. It’s about standing up for what you believe in and what you think is the right thing to do. I love the fierceness, the weakness, the plot. I adored the romance and friendships. If you love your fantasy this series is for you.

Book Review: Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen

May 7, 2017

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen

Pages: –
Publish date: May 8th, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Embrace
ASIN: B06XW22BPK
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Confession #1: I used to be a puck bunny, but after a hockey player broke my heart, I gave up all things hockey. Now I’m just focused on finding a way to pass my math class so I can graduate college.

Confession #2: Ryder “Ox” Maddox’s deep, sexy voice sends fuzzy tingles through my entire body, and I’m powerless to stop it. Which is a big problem since the hot, surprisingly funny hockey player is my new math tutor.

Confession #3: I can’t stop thinking about how ripped Ryder is from all his hockey training. And how fun it’d be to cross lines with him.

Confession #4: I kissed a hockey player and I liked it.

Confession #5: If I’m not careful, I might relapse and fall for Ryder. And then I’ll be totally pucked.

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny:

I received an e-arc of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is Book #5 in the Taking Shots series. However you can read it as a standalone. I’ve been reading Cindi Madsen’s books over the last couple of years. And while this series it’s of high quality, it’s one of those that I can get through in a couple of hours and enjoy what I am reading. And that’s why I liked reading Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny.

If you’ve been around for a while you know that I like my sport books – you can even check out some of my favourite Ice Hockey books here. So I already had a sense of this book before I picked it up.

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny follows protagonists Lindsay Rivera and Ryder “Ox” Maddox. One’s an Ice Hockey player and the other a former puck bunny who swore she would never fall for another hockey player again. But, Ryder is different and it’s taken Lindsay by surprise. Will she be able to lock her heart, or will this hockey player wrap her up in his world.

If you have read the previously books in the series then you would have meet both our protagonists before. But we see them in a different light in Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny.

Lindsay is a hard protagonist to get along with a times. She is very determined in what she wants from life. And while I love that, she does let her feelings get in the way. I connected with Lindsay a lot, in the sense of her career path and I loved that. The reader is able to see how much she wants to work in the industry and she would do anything to get there.

Ryder is different to the other male protagonists in this series and that alone intrigued me. I mean, yes he is a hockey player, but he was quiet and sensitive. I enjoyed this narrator and liked that he wasn’t the alpha male type. His passion for both Ice Hockey and Lindsay was adorable.

The romance was adorable. Like I said I loved how much Ryder cared for Lindsay and would do anything for her. Even getting turned down again and again. Lindsay is very hesitant about Ryder, but I love how he breaks her walls down and she starts falling for him slowly. It was beautiful at times and I just loved reading then together.

There was some very cliché moments in Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny, but I could totally see by it because of how much I enjoyed reading these characters. We get to see our previous protagonists and I loved that we got to see where they were on their journey.

Overall, Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny is a fun read. Sometimes it’s emotional and you just want to hug Lindsay and Ryder, pushing them together. There were parts that annoyed, where I wanted to scream at the characters. Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny explores the notion of finding love where you least expect it, family and friends and what it’s like to let yourself free. It’s fun, sexy and was just a good read.

Have you read this series? What do you think of it? Have you picked up Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny yet? What did you think of that? Are you planning on reading it. Let’s Chat!